Ok, I need help, too.

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I've asked for help before, but I don't think I ever actually followed the advice I was given.

I started at 150 and I've lost about 15 pounds. It's been months since I've lost anything (according to the scale)..and I'm frustrated.

I haven't done much strength training. I actually had to quit going to the gym. When at home, I am fairly sedentary, but I work about 24 hours a week at a fast food type place. I'm also doing the 30 day shred 6-7x a week. I hope to incorporate running soon, but my toe is broken.

I'm 5'1", 24 years old, female & weigh 136 pounds. My BMR is 1304 according to MFP. Is 1200 calories too low for me? I have lost weight on it before, but it doesn't seem to be working for me now.

Thank you for reading. :flowerforyou:

Replies

  • sgmomma
    sgmomma Posts: 299 Member
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    You need to eat more than your BMR use http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/ to figure out your intake
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,401 MFP Moderator
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    Yep, 1200 calories is too little. If you BMR is 1304 and you are moderately active (lightly active at your job and with 30DS you would be moderately active. And since you are within your normal weight range, you can't have a large deficit. So caloric needs is


    = 1304*1.55*.8 = 1616 <-- eat this every day, even on none workout days. it's not only important to feed your body to workout, but just as important to feed your body to repair and rebuild. You can set your macro's around 35% carbs, 40% protein and 25% fats.


    You gotta remember, you need to fuel your body in order for it to release weight/fat. Bodies are designed to hold onto body fat, especially when it detects lack of nutrition. So what generally happens is it cataboizes muscle to create energy, which makes weight loss even harder in the long run.

    Now, the biggest problem with your workout program is the lack of resistance training. And due to that, it's going to be a lot harder to cut body fat and maintain lean body mass (muscle, tissue, organs, etc...). LBM is what maintains your metabolic rate. Now, you don't need a gym member to get resistance training. If you have some weights, you can do problems like strong lift 5x5 or you can look into a program like Chalean Extreme or P90X.
  • futiledevices
    futiledevices Posts: 309 Member
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    Thank you! I've so far upped to 1400 and will go up to 1600 in a week or so. Definitely going to try some P90X or something similar once I'm done with the shred. I only have 5lb hand weights and can't afford more at the moment.. At least it's something.

    Thanks again!
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,401 MFP Moderator
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    Thank you! I've so far upped to 1400 and will go up to 1600 in a week or so. Definitely going to try some P90X or something similar once I'm done with the shred. I only have 5lb hand weights and can't afford more at the moment.. At least it's something.

    Thanks again!

    Great plan. When you do p90x then you will probably need to up your calories again. Also look into resistance bands, they are cheper and just as effective.